Ethan Long

Ethan Long is an internationally recognized children's book author and illustrator who has over 70 titles to his credit, which include Tickle the Duck, Chamelia and the New Kid in Class, Me and My Big Mouse, My Dad, My Hero, Scribbles & Ink, One Drowsy Dragon and  Up, Tall and High!, the winner of the 2013 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. He is also the creator of the Emmy-Nominated animated preschool series Tasty Time with ZeFronk, which currently airs daily on The Disney Channel. He lives with his wife and three children in Orlando, Florida.

Learn more about Ethan on his website.

Lisa M. Griffin

Lisa M. Griffin received a BFA in Visual Design/Illustration and started her career working as an in-house Designer for a leading financial company in Boston. Years later she made the leap to freelancing and has successfully established herself as a professional Illustrator and Designer. She regularly works with clients on a variety of creative projects including children's books, editorial/magazine illustration, graphic design and most recently, greeting cards and licensing.

With an affinity for wildlife and nature, as well as art, Lisa has developed her own mixed-media technique that is blend of both traditional and digital mediums. She enjoys making art that is lively with subtle textures and vibrant colors. Lisa hopes that her artwork will bring a smile to many... young, old and everyone in-between.

While working from her studio, she is surrounded by lots of creative inspiration. Lisa resides in scenic New Hampshire with her husband and three children.

Lisa writes about her dot, "My plan was to create an inquisitive character who spies an opening in the woods. But I wanted to leave the viewer guessing about whether he/she would explore what was beyond that opening. Would this little fox have the courage to move beyond a "safe place" to discover new and wonderful possibilities?"

Learn more about Lisa on her website.

Anika Denise

Anika Denise is a picture book author and poet. Her titles include Pigs Love Potatoes and Bella and Stella Come Home (both illustrated by her husband, artist Christopher Denise.)  School Library Journal called the couple's forthcoming picture book, Baking Day At Grandma's (August 14, 2014) "a wonderful rhyming poem. . . perfect for individual sharing, storytime, baking time, and pretty much any time."  Anika and Chris live with their three daughters in Rhode Island, in a converted 1910 beach cottage, just a stone's throw from the sparkling waters of Narragansett  Bay.

Anika writes about her dot:

"In many ways, creating a picture book is like cooking or baking. You balance and blend all the different ingredients to create a greater, sweeter whole.  I really do believe joy is the essential ingredient in any creative endeavor, and I'm blessed to experience so much of it, doing what I do." 

Learn more about Anika on her website.

Tina Kugler

Tina Kugler lives in Los Angeles with her artist husband, three boys and an enormous hairy dog named Harryhausen.

Tina's illustration debut is the May 2014 picture book The Change Your Name Store, written by Leanne Shirtliffe, published by Sky Pony Press. Tina writes about her dot, "Here is a dot of Wilma Lee Wu from The Change Your Name Store...a picture book about self-acceptance, with an Asian-American main character. Wilma Lee Wu decides she doesn't like her name, so she visits the Change Your Name Store. With each new name she tries, she travels to its country of origin to try it out."                                                              

Her picture book written and illustrated with her husband Carson Kugler, In Mary's Garden, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers. Their book connects the life and work of Wisconsin artist Mary Nohl with the ability to perceive the world in a creative way.
The release date is Spring 2015. (Source)

Learn more about Tina on her website.

Teacher's guide, printables, and projects for The Change Your Name Store available here.

Donna Gephart

Donna Gephart's first novel, As If Being 12-3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running For President! won the prestigious Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Her second novel, How To Survive Middle School, received starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal and landed on these state reading lists: Texas, New York, Louisiana and Illinois. Donna's next book was, Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, about a girl determined to get on the TV quiz show Jeopardy!, received a starred review from Kirkus! Her next book, Death By Toilet Paper!, is due out in August.

In addition to writing books for children, Donna has written for the following publications: Family Circle Magazine, The Los Angeles Times Newspaper, Parenting, Highlights for Children, Scholastic's Storyworks Magazine and many others.

Donna writes about her dot, "My dot is filled with the things that matter to me:  Books, creativity, love, indie bookstores, characters from my books created by a friend's daughter, etc.  If only I could fit my family and friends and some Florida sunshine on that dot, it would be perfect.  The plate on which the items rest was given to me by one of my wonderful creative writing students."

Originally from Philadelphia, Donna now lives in South Florida with her husband and two sons.

Learn more about Donna on her website.

Eric Carle

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 58 languages and sold over 38 million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 125 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

Learn more about Eric on his website.

Troy Wilson

Troy Wilson is best known as the author of Perfect Man,  a highly acclaimed picture book that celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. He has also written numerous kids' stories for Chirp, Chickadee, and Highlights for Children. Scholastic Canada will be releasing a picture book of his called The Duck Says in 2015.

Troy has given many well-received presentations at schools, libraries, bookstores, festivals, and conferences across Canada. He was born in Port Alberni, BC, and he currently lives in Victoria, which is on the southernmost tip of Vancouver Island

To learn more about Troy and his work, please visit his website.